Separator for bottle-type objects and associated template

ABSTRACT

A separator of items of the bottle type from a cardboard template, with said separator comprising a longitudinal partition wall that separates two opposing rows of bottles and a set of vertical foldable flaps that prevent the lateral contact between bottles of the same row. The separator comprises a first type of sheet and a second type of sheet. Each sheet has a central partition wall and two vertical, equidistant each other flaps. Each flap comprises two vertical adjacent portions, one distal portion and one proximal portion. The flaps are joined to its corresponding sheet through vertical folding lines. These folding lines are located in the vertical direction of the partition wall and are laterally displaced in relation to an imaginary plane which is perpendicular to the partition wall, going through bottles of the same row of bottles. This displacement is equal to about one fourth the bottle diameter.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a U.S. national phase application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 ofInternational Patent Application No. PCT/CL2016/000063, filed Oct. 25,2016, and claims benefit of priority to Chilean Patent Application No.1336-2016, filed Jun. 1, 2016. The entire contents of these applicationsare hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

This invention relates to a separator of items of the cylindrical bottletype arranged in a box for transportation, where the separator preventsthe contact and optimizes the separation between them both inlongitudinal and transverse direction and it is applicable forcylindrical bottles of different size and form.

This invention also relates to a cardboard template to form theseparator of items of the bottle type.

BACKGROUND

Separators are used inside of boxes or containers in order to generateseparate cavities to isolate the objects contained each other, avoidingcontact between them, especially when they are made of a materialsubject to breaking and a package is needed capable of protecting thebottles by preventing direct contact between them, so that to avoidpossible impacts and scratches that can also damage labels, with theresulting loss of quality for the product.

Several solutions have been developed related to the use of sheets,cardboard plates or buffering materials arranged among bottles, wherethe main challenge is always to get an efficient separator capable ofavoiding contact among bottles efficiently, but at the same time beingcheap to produce and easy to install.

Another challenge is related to the wide variety of bottles, as forexample, bottles for wine, since these can be of different type, such asbottles of straight body, inverted cone body or the so-called Burgundytype, which are bottles with a rather straight bottom area with a wideshoulder area upwards. Additionally, among these types of bottles thereis great variety regarding size, both in height and in diameter, so thatseparators already developed are not always useful for this kind ofbottles.

Although some separators have been designed that could be useful for awide range of bottles, these separators normally have many parts orfoils of materials of height weight in grams, which involve high costsin material and production. An example of these separators is the spacerdescribed in the Argentinean priority patent document AR050390,Lattanzi, published on Oct. 25, 2006, which is made up by two or threerectangular plates joint each other by a vertical adhesive strip, wherethe external plates cover the sides of bottles protecting them againstimpacts. In this case it is possible to see that this separator could beapplied to different types and sizes of bottles, but with the drawbackof not being cheap to produce, because it is not only made of threesheets, but irregular in the protection it provides, because the bottleslocated in the center are separated by three sheets of material, whilethe bottles on the sides are separated by only one sheet. In theembodiment of two sheets, this would be useful only for three bottlesarranged on one side of the separator, with a second separator beingnecessary in order to separate bottles in boxes of six units, becausesix is the usual number of bottles arranged in export boxes.

Also another kind of separators has been developed trying to solve thesame problem of protecting bottles. Those used the most are theseparators formed by a multiplicity of parts separated each other with acommon axis, forming orthogonal bands that can fold each other so thatto collapse the separator in the piling condition. These solutions,however, are more complex to manufacture, need materials of high weightin grams, because by being made by just one sheet and without any kindof fold, they need a certain degree of stiffness to become operative,and they are little effective, especially due to the number of parts tobe bound afterwards and that can easily disengage at their installation.An example of this kind of separators can be seen in documentsUS2009/72016, Molle; U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,092, Palmer; U.S. Pat. No.4,000,845, Zeller; U.S. Pat. No. 2,673,656, Cunningham, and U.S. Pat.No. 3,997,102, Jones. All of them describe separators for bottles madeup by independent parts or bands with engaging slots each other, which,as mentioned before, show the drawback of having a multiplicity of partsand the incapacity of just one single kind of separator being useful forall sizes and types of bottles, because the cuts they have for theengagement of parts are placed in a fixed way, so that once assembled,the separator have fixed-size cavities that are not useful for allsizes.

Another kind of separators are of the bellows type, where bands ofmaterial are folded and joined fixedly, generating containing cavities,such as those described in documents U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,984, Gardner orin U.S. Pat. No. 3,301,460, Harrison. The main disadvantage of theseseparators is the amount of material used and the little flexibilitythey provide to be used in any kind of sizes of bottles, because theircavities have a fixed size.

Other developments of bottle separators have tried to make surfacelighter, reduce the amount of different parts and the number of folis,getting quite efficient designs in terms of manufacture, because despitetheir cuts of complex shape, these separators are made of just one sheetwith foldable flaps, so that with one central plate they get to separatebottles to both sides. Examples of these cases can be seen in U.S. Pat.No. 3,263,893, Weiss; FR2396691, Beghin-Say; FR2105513, LafargeEmballage; U.S. Pat. No. 4,294,398, Chidsey; and U.S. Pat. No.3,662,879, Helms.

Although these separators are good in terms of saving material, becausethey use only one sheet, they are not useful for all kind of bottles,because it has been seen that some of them can be useful for bottleswith straight body, buy they are not capable of protecting bottles ofthe normal cone type or inverted cone type. This deficiency isespecially given, because when working with one single sheet, the flapsfolded into opposite sides have a different shape; thus, while theprotect bottles in a good way at their bottom, they do not protect atthe upper part, or they can protect bottles being in opposing rows well,but it is not the same with adjacent bottles in the same row.

This deficiency can be clearly noted in U.S. Pat. No. 3,662,879, becausealthough it is said that it is useful for different types and shapes ofbottles, they don't do this with one single separator, but offeringinstead a different form of separator for each type of bottle. Thus, itis possible to see in FIG. 2 that there is a one-single sheet separatorwith flaps of one kind at its ends and flaps of another kind in thecentral zone. This condition of different forms of flaps makes themanufacture of the separator more expensive and its does guarantee itsuse for all types of bottles, because as the area of a flap to beprotected increases, a portion of the area is taken from another flap orthe central area of the separator is reduced. Additionally, while moreflaps are manufactured from one sheet, their resistance is reduced, asis the case of providing more flaps of small size in foils of thinmaterial, which can easily break or bend during the process of placementof the separator between bottles.

In this kind of one-sheet separators, also the stiffness conditions thatcan be provided by the separator is affected, if it is manufactured in athin material and if it lacks any kind of folding. Thus, theseseparators are normally of a high weight in grams, i.e. above 300 g/m2and up to 500 g/m2, which make the cost of the separator more expensiveand can affect the flexibility that is sometimes necessary for theirflaps and pivot line.

SUMMARY

This is why this invention overcomes the problems of the state of theart by providing a separator for cylindrical bottles formed from acardboard template, which has a simple shape, of low cost, easy toinstall and which form allows optimizing the separation between bottlesin all directions of the separator and when applied in a wide range offorms and sizes of bottles, preferably wine bottles.

In the bottles of wine, the complexity is given because the most usedare normally of several types; for example, some of them have a straightcylindrical body (from the base to the shoulder of the bottle), i.e. inthe whole height of the body it has the same diameter. Also one of themost used are those with inverted cone form, where the diameter in thebottle shoulder is greater than the base diameter. We also have thebottles called Burgundy, which have a lower area which is normallystraight or slightly conic, and one portion of the shoulder which isclearly longer and merges with the bottle neck area. Among these kindsof bottles many varieties of sizes can be found, so that in order todetermine where the contact among bottles is produced when beingpackaged in a box for transport, a wide range of measures is generatedin order to determine the points where the separator should actpreventing the contact among bottles.

Therefore, in the case of straight wine bottles there are several sizes,which diameter can be between minimum 73 mm and maximum 78.6 mm, and theheight of the body can be between minimum 174 mm and maximum 201.6 mm,which the contact between these straight bottles is produced in thewhole the height of the body along a vertical line.

In inverted cone bottles there are also different sizes, where thegreater diameter, i.e. the most important one, because it is there wherebottles touch each other, can be between 77.6 mm and 86.7 mm for thegreatest bottles. As to their height from the bottom to the shoulder,they have between 175.7 mm and 201.6 mm. In this case, the criticalpoint of contact of bottles is the area of greater diameter, which islocated at the upper end of the body, which coincides with the shoulder.

For Burgundy type bottles, i.e. those with a straight cylindrical bottomportion, it can be seen that the variation in size ranges betweenbottles of 78.3 mm diameter and 88 mm diameter at their bottom or lowerarea, also having a height between 80 mm and 115 mm. In this kind ofbottles, the critical contact area between them can be found in thecylindrical area, which is the one with the greatest diameter of bottle.

As already seen, there is a great variety of sizes according to thedifferent types of bottles, but for the separator to be applicable toall these varieties, we must consider that for the diameter of allbottles the range is between minimum 73 mm and 88 mm. As to the criticalheight, the range is from the bottom to 201.6 mm, which would correspondto the highest point of inverted cone bottles, and 174 mm to the lowestpoint of shoulder of straight bottles. Therefore, an average bottleincludes an approximate diameter of 76 mm and a height of 201.6 mm, thisbeing the greatest height of the body seen in all bottles of wine. This,however, does not imply that it cannot be used with bottles of anotherformat.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a separator of items, specifically forcylindrical bottles. The main purpose of this is to provide a separatorof bottles arranged in a box for their transport, ordered in twoparallel rows of three bottles each, where the separator preventscontact between them both in longitudinal (the two parallel rows) andtransverse (bottles in the same row) direction. It is also applicablefor cylindrical bottles of inverted cone body and straight body with awide shoulder area as the Burgundy type or a shorter shoulder area, asthe straight cylindrical ones, wherein this separator is of lowmanufacture cost, easy to assemble and has two directions of insertion;thus it can be placed in any of them.

Even another objective of the present invention is to provide aseparator of bottles with pivoting flaps having portions or bands ofproper width and length to protect a wide range of bottles.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a separator ofbottles with flaps of proper size, which prevents its easy breaking dueto manipulation.

Even another objective of the present invention is to provide aseparator of bottles with areas of material of proper thickness in orderto protect and prevent contact between the two rows of bottles.

An additional objective is to provide a separator easy to insert betweenbottles, which allows its introduction in any vertical direction, sothat the operator should not think or decide which direction to select.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a separator ofbottles of a resistant and flexible material, so that the flaps may foldeasily and bend surrounding the bottles.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a cardboardtemplate to form a separator of bottles meeting the objectives mentionedabove.

For the objectives to be reached, the invention first proposes aseparator that can be formed by two sheets morphologically differenteach other or by two morphologically equal sheets each other, which arearranged parallel and which can generate a single one-part template thancan fold over around a central transverse folding line or may be made upby two independent sheets joined through adhesive areas arranged in itsopposing faces, where the separator has flaps of two types, with some ofthem in one of the sheets and the other type of flap in thecounter-sheet.

The separator can be manufactured of any kind of cellulosic laminatedmaterial of the cardboard or plastic type, with a weight in grams notexceeding 350 g/m2. Thus, a sufficiently resistant and light separatorcan be obtained, but also flexible and of proper thickness to produceenough separation between bottles.

The separator is comprised of longitudinal partitioning and a set ofvertical flaps, wherein the longitudinal partitioning is made by twoparallel sheets and separates the two parallel rows, while the set ofvertical flaps is generated by cutting lines and vertical folding lineson the sheets, wherein these flaps, by deploying outwardly, prevent thelateral contact of the bottles in the same row.

In the longitudinal partitioning, a central area can be seen, as well asupper and lower edges and side edges, wherein each sheet making up thepartitioning comprises a partition wall and two vertical flaps, whichare symmetrical and equidistant each other according to an imaginaryvertical central axis. Said flaps are in turn made up by two adjacentvertical portions, one distal portion and one proximal portion.

According to an embodiment of the invention, each sheet has a differentconfiguration, wherein the first sheet has lateral flaps with a centeredcutting line half height of the sheet, so that said foldable flaps maypivot in two vertical folding lines, each one located at the upper andlower ends of the sheet, while in a second sheet that is part of theseparator, the side flaps have two cutting lines, each located at theupper and lower end of the sheet, so that said foldable flaps may pivoton a vertical folding line centered according to the height of thesheet.

Flaps are located on the side edges of the sheets, where the flap of asheet has a common vertical pivot with the flap of the opposing sheetand unfolds to each side of the partition wall around said verticalfolding lines.

In the case of the first sheet, which has two folding lines by flap,said folding flaps are vertically aligned in the same axis and each onehas a height that is approximately equivalent to a fourth of the sheet'stotal height, while the folding lines of each flap are laterallydisplaced to each end of the partition wall in relation to an imaginaryplane going through the bottles of the same row and touching thepartition wall perpendicularly.

In the second sheet, the folding lines have a height approximatelycomprising the central third portion of the sheet's height and arelaterally displaced to each end in relation to an imaginary plane goingthrough the bottle in the same row and touching the partition wallperpendicularly.

In both sheets, this lateral displacement of the folding lines is equalto a fourth diameter of the average bottle and when the separator isinstalled between the bottles, this generates the bending of the flapsand in order to surround the inside quadrant of the lateral bottles'perimeter, shortening the distance between the partition wall and thedistal portion of each flap, making said distal portion to become closeto the partition wall's central area and being located between thebottles of the same row and prevents the lateral contact between themjust at the height of the tangency line between bottles.

In both sheets, without considering the flaps, the body of the partitionwall has a total width of at least two diameters and a half of theaverage bottle and a height covering from the bottom of the bottle to atleast 6 mm above the shoulder of the tallest bottles.

In the first sheet of the separator, the partition wall comprisesseparating vertical laterally-projecting portions generated by a centralcutting line, where said separating portions are located in the middlearea of height of the partition wall, and have a width corresponding tohalf the diameter of the bottle and a height above a third of thepartition wall's height.

In the case of the second sheet, the partition wall has upper and lowerseparating portions projecting from the side edges, which are generatedby horizontal tilted cutting lines followed by vertical cutting linespracticed in the four vertexes of the partition wall, wherein saidseparating portions have a width corresponding to half the diameter ofthe average bottle and a height of at least one third the height of thepartition wall, with these portions acting to prevent the contactbetween the bottles of the ends of the opposing rows.

Thus, once the two sheets that make up the separator are parallel eachother and each of them has its two flaps folded outwards, the twoopposing rows of bottles are separated by the area of the partition wallof each sheet and by the upper and lower separating portions of thesecond sheet together with the central separating portion of the firstsheet that covers the vertically cut area of the second sheet.

This way, the central bottles of each opposing row are separated by thecentral area of the partition wall and the side bottles of each opposingrow are separated by the set of side separating portions of each sheet,where the separating portions of the first sheet cover the mid area ofthe separator's total height in its side edges, and the upper and lowerseparating portions of the second sheet cover the upper and lower areaof the separator's total height in the same side edges of the partitionwall.

Advantageously, when the flaps of both sheets of the separators unfold,a vertical continuous surface is formed in the side ends of theseparator preventing the contact between the bottles located on eachside of the ends thereof, regardless of its size, type and form.

Also advantageously, the flaps of both sheets unfold from the ends ofthe partition wall to the center, so that the bottles of the ends pushthe flaps contrary to the closing direction thereof, thus generating agreater force of pressure from the flap against the central bottle andthus providing a greater separation area among the bottles located inthe same line.

In both sheets, the distal portion of the flaps has a width at least onethird the diameter of the average bottle and a height equivalent to thepartition wall's total height. This provides a separator that covers thebody height of all possible bottles totally and thanks to the widthbeing at least one third the diameter of the bottles, it also ensuresthat whichever the size of the bottle, there always will be a portion ofthe separator preventing the contact of adjacent bottles in the samerow.

This margin increased both for height and width of distal portionsensures the lateral protection of the bottles in the same row,especially because the flaps of the separator are not of double sheet asthe partition wall, but of only one sheet.

In both sheets, the proximal portion of the flaps is the portion locatedbetween the distal portion and the vertical folding line, from which theflap emerges, with a width equivalent to half the diameter of theaverage bottle, and in the case of the second sheet a height not greaterthan two quarters of the partition wall's height, while in the firstsheet, each folding line has a height not greater than one fourth of thetotal partition wall's height.

By being lower than the distal portion, the proximal portion's heightallows the flap to easily bend surrounding the bottles, while its widthis the result of the width required for the upper and lower separatingportions of the partition wall, so that when being bent and surroundingthe bottles, the distance of the distal portion becomes shorter inrelation to the partition wall. This results in the distal portion to belocated covering the tangential point of contact of the bottles of thesame row when becoming closer to the partition wall, because if saidflaps do not bend, the distal portion would be beyond the point wherethe bottles touch each other and hence the contact between them wouldnot be prevented.

In both sheets, the vertical folding lines are parallel each other andare separated each other by a lateral distance between them equal to onediameter and a half an average bottle. Thus, when the flaps bendsurrounding the lateral bottles, the flaps become closer to the center,allowing the distal portions of the flaps to be located in the tangencyline where the central bottles touches the lateral ones in the same row.

In both sheets, the horizontal sections of the cutting lines thatgenerate each flap have an inclination and a joining vertex with thevertical section of said cutting lines, which is rounded, wherein thischaracteristic is useful in such a way that when the separator isinserted between the bottles, the edges do not tear the labels of thebottles, because when inserting the separator, this is introducedvertically downstream and when the separators are straight, they impactthe edges of the labels in a parallel way and damage said labels. Whenthey are instead cut in an inclined and rounded way, the impact with thelabel is no longer parallel, preventing the labels from being torn anddetached.

When the separator is installed between bottles with the flaps alreadydeployed outwardly, the proximal portion of the flaps bends surroundingthe lower quadrant of the applicable lateral bottle's perimeter, and thedistal portion remains in the contact point of the perimeter of theadjacent bottles in the same row, while in the opposing rows of bottles,they are longitudinally separated by the partition wall, where thecentral bottles are separated each other by the central area of thepartition wall, which is fully flat and comprises the total height ofthe partition wall, while the lateral bottles of each opposing row areseparated each other by the set of upper and lower separating portionsof the second sheet and by the central separating portion of the firstsheet remaining between the first two portions.

Second, the invention is associated with a cardboard template to formthe separator of items of the bottle type described above, whichcomprises a foil where the four flaps are configured with eachcomprising a distal portion and a proximal portion, wherein each flap isconfigured by cutting lines and vertical folding lines, with thevertical folding lines being located in the longitudinal direction ofthe foil and displaced to a respective imaginary plane in an equidistantway, thus forming a displacement which is equal to about a fourth thediameter of a bottle.

The template comprises a central transverse folding ridge along thefoil, which in turn comprises a central weakened section and two lateralcut sections, thus generating the foil to be made up by two sheetsjoined in said common central folding ridge.

In a first type of template made up by two different types of sheets,the first sheet has four folding lines, two of them aligned in the samepivoting axis from which a flap is born, and the other two aligned in adifferent pivoting axis, but parallel to the first one, where the otherflap is born from the same sheet. Thus, there are two folding lines bornfrom the ends of the central pre-cut section of the template's centralridge, while the other two folding lines reach the opposite end of saidfolding ridge.

The second sheet of the template shows two folding lines from which therespective flaps are born, with the folding lines being located in themid section of height of the sheet and are, each of them, in turnaligned with each pivoting axis of the first sheet's flap, with aspecial separation between them which is equal to one diameter and ahalf of a bottle.

The partition wall of the first sheet and the partition wall of thesecond sheet have a greater width which is equal to at least twodiameters and a half of the bottle and total height that covers from thebottom to the bottle's shoulder.

The partition wall of the first sheet comprises vertical separatingportions laterally projected and located in the mid area of thepartition wall's height, generated by a cutting line, where saidseparating portions have a width corresponding to half the diameter ofthe bottle and a height above one third of the partition wall's height.

The cutting lines of the first sheet are formed by a central vertical,parallel section displaced outwards the vertical folding line, followedin both ends by inclined horizontal, converging each other sections,which end when finding the vertical folding line.

The partition wall of the second sheet comprises upper and lowerseparating portions generated by cutting lines, where said separatingportion have a width corresponding to half the diameter of the bottleand its height is at least one fourth the height of the partition wall.

The cutting lines of the second sheet are each formed by a vertical,parallel section displaced outwards the vertical folding line and ahorizontal inclined section, which end when finding the vertical foldingline.

The distal portion of the flaps of the second sheet has a width at leastone third the diameter of the average bottle and a height equivalent tothe partition wall's total height, while the proximal portion has awidth equivalent to half the diameter of bottles and a height notgreater one third the partition wall's height.

The distal portion of the flaps of the first sheet has a width at leastone third the diameter of the average bottle and a height equivalent tothe partition wall's total height, while the proximal portion has awidth equivalent to half the diameter of bottles and a height notgreater one third the partition wall's height.

The vertical folding lines of the first sheet are parallel and separatedeach other by a distance equal to one diameter and a half of bottles.The vertical folding lines of the second sheet are parallel andseparated each other by a distance equal to one diameter and a half ofbottles.

The common folding ridge has a central weakened joining portion betweenboth sheets, which width is equal to the separation width betweenvertical folding lines in both sheets.

In the second kind of template, this is made up by a foil folding in twoequal sheets, unlike the other type of template with is made up by twodifferent sheets. In the second case, the equal sheets correspond to thesecond sheet described in the first kind of template.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the template comprises onesingle foil folded in two sheets joined around the central transversefolding line or ridge, which fold around said folding line in order toform a one single part separator of items of the bottle kind.

According to another embodiment, the template comprises two independentsheets joining each other in a parallel way, and it can be fixed throughadhesive lines placed on the opposing faces between the sheets.

In a different embodiment, the separator can be applied to twelve-bottlepacks ordered in four rows of three bottles each, where the two centralrows are separated each other by the normal configuration of theseparator, while the rows of each end are separated from the two centralones by the alternative configuration of the separator, where the latteris conceived by independent sheets, placing each sheet separatelybetween one end row and one central row.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A detailed description of the invention will be performed together withthe figures that are part of this presentation, where it can be seenthat:

FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of the separator in assembled condition.

FIG. 2 shows an isometric view of the separator in assembled conditionaccording to an opposing face shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows an upper plan view of the separator installed between thebottles and inside a box.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-section upper plan view of a detail of the areawhere the flap is folded in relation to the partition wall. This view ispresented only for reference in order to show the curvature experiencedby the flap and the approach effect to the partition wall due to saidcurvature.

FIG. 5 shows a front elevated view of the separator with its flapsunfolded and showing a first type of sheet.

FIG. 6 shows a front elevated view of the separator with its flapsunfolded and showing a second type of sheet.

FIG. 7 shows an upper plan view of the separator not installed, but withflaps folded.

FIG. 8 shows a front elevated view of a first embodiment of the templatethat makes up the separator.

FIG. 9 shows a front elevated view of a second embodiment of thetemplate that makes up the separator.

FIG. 10 shows a front elevated view of an alternative embodiment of thetemplate to make up the separator of separate sheets.

FIG. 11 shows a front elevated view of an alternative embodiment of thetemplate to make up the separator of separate sheets.

FIG. 12 shows a front elevated view of the separator of the firstembodiment installed between the bottles.

FIG. 13 shows a side elevated view of the separator of the firstembodiment installed between bottles of inverted cone shape.

FIG. 14 shows a front elevated view of the separator of the secondembodiment installed between the bottles.

FIG. 15 shows a side elevated view of the separator of the secondembodiment installed between bottles of inverted cone shape.

FIG. 16 shows a front elevated view of the template to make up the firstembodiment of the separator.

FIG. 17 shows a front elevated view of the template to make up thesecond embodiment of the separator.

FIG. 18 shows a schematic view of the separator in front view of thefirst sheet, where the scheme of contact point in the flaps is shown asproduced among bottles of the same row.

FIG. 19 shows a schematic view of the separator in front view of thefirst sheet, where the scheme of contact point in the partition wall isshown as produced among bottles of opposing rows.

FIG. 20 shows a schematic view of the separator in front view of thesecond sheet, where the scheme of contact point in the flaps is shown asproduced among bottles of the same row.

FIG. 21 shows a schematic view of the separator in front view of thesecond sheet, where the scheme of contact point in the partition wall isshown as produced among bottles of opposing rows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention refers to a separator (1) of items of thecylindrical bottle type, which, according to the embodiment shown inFIG. 3, are arranged in a box (A) for transport, ordered in two parallelrows (B) of three bottles each, one central (C) and lateral (D) rows,where the separator prevents the contact among them both in longitudinaland transverse direction and it is applicable for inverted cone body,cone body and straight body bottles.

According to the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, theseparator (1) comprises a longitudinal partition wall (10) and a set offoldable vertical flaps preventing the lateral contact between bottlesin the same row, where the separator (1) comprises a first type of sheet(11) and a second type of sheet (12), where the sheet (11) has a centralpartition wall (110) and two vertical, symmetrical and equidistant flaps(111) each other, with each flap (111) having two adjacent verticalportions, one distal portion (112) and one proximal portion (113).

While the sheet (12), best illustrated in FIG. 2, has a centralpartition wall (120) and two vertical, symmetrical and equidistant flaps(121) each other, with each flap (121) having two adjacent verticalportions, one distal portion (122) and one proximal portion (123).

As it can be noted in FIG. 3, the flaps (111) and (121) are joined totheir respective sheet (11), (12) through a vertical folding line (114),(124) and said folding lines are laterally displaced with respect to animaginary plane (E), which is best illustrated in FIG. 4, which isperpendicular to the partition wall (110), (120) going through bottles(C, D) of the same row (B) of bottles, where this displacement (x) isapproximately equal to a fourth of the bottle diameter.

In reference to FIG. 5, it is noted that the vertical folding lines(114) of the first type of sheet (11) are two by flap (111), an upperfolding line and a lower one, located in the same vertical lines; thecentral partition wall (110) has a greater width (a) of at least twodiameters and a half the bottle and a total height (b) covering from thebottom to the bottle shoulder. The partition wall (110) in turncomprises two separating vertical portions (115) located in the mid areaof the partition wall (110) height with a width (c) corresponding to atleast half the diameter of the bottle and a height (d) greater than onethird the partition wall (110) height, generated by a cutting line(116).

The cutting lines (116) of the sheet (11) are formed by a central,parallel vertical section (117) displaced outwards the vertical foldinglines (114) followed in both ends by horizontal inclined sections (118),which are converging each other and ending when finding the verticalfolding line (114).

Going on with the same FIG. 5, the distal portion (112) of flaps (111)has a width (g) of at least one third the bottle diameter and a height(h) equivalent to the partition wall (110) height (b), while theproximal portion (113) has a width (i) equivalent to at least half thediameter of bottles and a height (j) of about one fourth the partitionwall (110) height.

In reference to FIG. 6, it is noted that the vertical folding lines(124) of the second type of sheet (12) are one by flap (121) located inthe mid area of height of each flap (121), while the central partitionwall (120) has a greater width (a) of at least two diameters and a halfthe bottle and a total height (b) covering from the bottom to the bottleshoulder.

The partition wall (120) of the sheet (12) comprises separate upper(125) and lower (126) portions generated by cutting lines (127), wheresaid separating portions (125) and (126) have a greater width (e)corresponding to at least half the diameter of the bottle and its height(f) is at least of fourth the partition wall (120) height.

The cutting lines (127) of the sheet (12) are each formed by a vertical,parallel section (128) displaced outwards the vertical folding line(124) and by a horizontal inclined section (129) ending when finding thevertical folding line (124).

Going on with the same FIG. 6, it can be noted that the distal portion(122) of flaps (121) has a width (k) of at least one third the bottlediameter and a height (l) equivalent to the partition wall (110) height(b), while the proximal portion (123) has a width (m) equivalent to atleast half the diameter of bottles and a height (n) greater to one thirdthe partition wall (110) height.

As it can be seen in FIG. 7, in the sheet (11), the folding lines (114)of a flap (111) are parallel to the vertical folding lines (114) of theother flap (111), while the vertical folding line (124) of a flap (121)is parallel to the vertical folding line (124) of the other flap (121)and are laterally separated each other by a distance (ñ) which isequivalent to one diameter and a half of the bottles.

According to an embodiment of the separator, which is better seen inFIG. 8, the same is comprised of a one-part template (2) formed by twodifferent sheets, one corresponding to the first type of sheet (11) andthe other one corresponding to the second type of sheet (12), joined andfolded each other around a common central transverse folding ridge (21)having a central weakened joining portion (22) between both sheets (11)and (21), which width (ñ′) is equal to the separation width (ñ) betweenvertical folding lines (114), (124) of each sheet.

According to another embodiment of the separator, which is better seenin FIG. 9, the same is comprised of a one-part template (3) formed bytwo equal sheets of the second type of sheet (12), joined and foldedeach other around a common central transverse folding ridge (31) havinga central weakened joining portion (32) between both sheets (12) and(21), which width (a′) is equal to the width (a) of the partition wall(120).

According to another embodiment, which is better seen in FIG. 10, theseparator is formed from a sheet of the first type (11) and a sheet ofthe second type (12), which are independent and that can be joined byadhesive lines (13) placed in a central area of the partition wall (110)and the partition wall (120) of each sheet.

According to another embodiment, which is better seen in FIG. 11, theseparator is formed from two independent sheets of the second type (12)that can be joined by adhesive lines (14) placed in a central area ofthe partition wall (120) of each sheet.

As illustrated in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, when the separator (1) formed byone sheet (11) and one sheet (12), is installed between the bottles withflaps (111) and (121) unfolded outwardly, the proximal portion (113) ofthe flaps (111) and the proximal portion (123) of the flaps (121) bend,thus surrounding the inside quadrant of the corresponding lateral bottleperimeter (D); while the distal portion (112) of the flaps (111) and thedistal portion (122) of the flaps (121) remains in the contact point ofthe perimeter of the adjacent bottles (C, D) in the same row; and whilebetween the opposing rows (B) of bottles, the central bottles (C) remainseparated each other by the partition wall (110) and (120), and thebottles (D) of each end remain separated in the area of shoulder and thelower area by the upper (125) and lower (126) separating portions of thepartition wall (120) of sheet (12), respectively; while the central areaof the bottles (D) remains separated by the vertical separating portions(115) of the partition wall (110) of the first sheet (11).

As illustrated in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, when the separator (1) formed bytwo sheets (12), is installed between the bottles with flaps (121)unfolded outwardly, the proximal portion (123) of the flaps (121) bend,thus surrounding the inside quadrant of the corresponding lateral bottleperimeter (D); the distal portion (122) of the flaps (121) remains inthe contact point of the perimeter of the adjacent bottles (C, D) in thesame row; while between the opposing rows (B) of bottles, the centralbottles (C) remain separated each other by the partition wall (120), andthe bottles (D) of each end remain separated in the area of shoulder andthe lower area by the upper (125) and lower (126) separating portions ofthe partition wall (120).

The separator of items is useful to separate cylindrical bottles thatcan be arranged in a box (A) for transport, ordered in parallel two rows(B) of three bottles each, once central (C) an two lateral (D) ones, asseen in FIG. 3.

In reference to FIG. 16, the separator is formed by a cardboard template(2), which is in turn comprised of a foil folded in two sheets through acentral folding ridge (21), which is transverse to the foil length,where said sheets are different each other (11, 12) configured by acentral partition wall (110, 120) and two flaps (111, 121), comprisingeach a distal portion (112, 122) and a proximal portion (113, 123),where each flap (111, 121) originates from cutting lines (116, 127) froma vertical folding line (114, 124), with those vertical folding lines(114, 124) being located in the template's longitudinal direction and,as better seen in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, they are laterally displaced withrespect to an imaginary plane (E) perpendicularly to the partition wall(110, 120), thus forming a displacement (x) which is approximately equalto fourth the diameter of a bottle.

The vertical folding lines (114) of the sheet (11) are two by each flap(111), one upper and another lower, located in the same vertical line,and the vertical folding lines (124) of the second sheet (12) are one byeach flap (121) located in the mid area of the height of each flap(121); while the partition wall (110) of the first sheet (11) and thepartition wall (120) of the second sheet (12) have a greater width (a)of at least two diameters and a half the bottle and a total height (b)covering from the bottom to the bottle shoulder.

The partition wall (110) of the first sheet (11) comprises verticalseparating portions (115) laterally projected and located in the midarea of the partition wall (110) height, generated by a cutting line(116), where said separating portions (115) have a width (c)corresponding to at least half the diameter of the bottle and a height(d) greater to a third of the partition wall (110) height.

The cutting lines (116) of the first sheet (11) are formed by a centralvertical, parallel section (117) displaced outwards the vertical foldingline (114), followed in both ends by inclined horizontal, convergingeach other sections, which end when finding the vertical folding line(114).

The partition wall (120) of the second sheet (12) comprises upper (125)and lower (126) separating portions generated by cutting lines (127),where said separating portions (125), (126) have a width (e)corresponding at least to half the diameter of the bottle and its height(f) is at least one third the height of the partition wall (10).

The cutting lines (127) of the second sheet (12) are each formed by avertical, parallel section (128) displaced outwards the vertical foldingline (124) and a horizontal inclined section (129), which end whenfinding the vertical folding line (124).

The distal portion (112) of the flaps (111) has a width (g) at least onethird the diameter of the bottle and a height (h) equivalent to thepartition wall (110) height, while the proximal portion (113) has awidth (i) equivalent to half the diameter of bottles and a height (j)not greater than one third the partition wall (110) height; while distalportion (122) of the flaps (121) has a width (k) at least one third thediameter of the bottle and a height (l) equivalent to the partition wall(120) height; while the proximal portion (123) has a width (m)equivalent to half the diameter of bottles and a height (n) not greaterthan one third the partition wall (120) height.

The vertical folding lines (114) of the first sheet (11) are paralleland separated each other by a distance (ñ) equal to one diameter and ahalf of bottles; while the vertical folding lines (124) of the secondsheet (12) are parallel and separated each other by the same distance(ñ), which is equal to one diameter and a half of bottles. The commonfolding ridge (21) has a central weakened joining portion (22) betweenboth sheets (11) and (12), which width (ñ′) is equal to the separationwidth (ñ) between vertical folding lines (114), (124).

According to another embodiment of the invention, better seen in FIG.17, the separator is formed by a cardboard template (3), which is inturn comprised of a foil folded in two sheets (12) through a centralfolding and joining ridge (31), which is transverse to the foil length,where said sheets (12) the same each other, configured by a centralpartition wall (120) and two flaps (121), comprising each a distalportion (122) and a proximal portion (123), where each flap (121)originates from cutting lines (127) from a vertical folding line (124),with those vertical folding lines (124) being located in the template'slongitudinal direction and, as better seen in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, theyare laterally displaced with respect to an imaginary plane (E)perpendicularly to the partition wall (120), thus forming a displacement(x) which is approximately equal to fourth the diameter of a bottle.

Going on with the same FIG. 17, the vertical folding lines (124) of thesheets (12) are one by each flap (121) located in the mid area of heightof each flap (121); while the partition wall (120) has a greater width(a) of at least two diameters and a half the bottle and a total height(b) covering from the bottom to the bottle shoulder, where thispartition wall (120) comprises separating upper (125) and lower (126)portions generated by cutting lines (127), where said separatingportions (125), (126) have a width (e) corresponding to at least halfthe diameter of the bottles and its height (f) is at least one fourththe height the partition wall (120).

The cutting lines (127) of the sheets (12) are each formed by avertical, parallel section (128) displaced outwards the vertical foldingline (124) and a horizontal inclined section (129), which end whenfinding the vertical folding line (124). The distal portion (122) of theflaps (121) has a width (k) at least one third the diameter of thebottle and a height (l) equivalent to the partition wall (120) height,while the proximal portion (123) has a width (m) equivalent to half thediameter of bottles and a height (n) not greater one third the partitionwall (120) height.

The vertical folding lines (124) of the sheets (12) are parallel andseparated each other by a distance (ñ′) which is equal to one diameterand a half of the bottles; while the common folding ridge (31) has acentral joining portion (32) weakened between both sheets (12), whichwidth (a′) is equal to the width (a) of the partition wall (120).

In reference to FIGS. 18, 19, 20 and 21, there a scheme is seen showingthe different parts of the separator operating according to thedifferent types of bottles (straight, inverted cone and Burgundy type).Thus in FIG. 18, it is seen that the distal portion (112) of flaps (111)of the sheet (11) cover the total height and width to the possiblecontact points between bottles in the same row. Likewise, in FIG. 19 itis seen that the central area of the partition wall (110) operates byseparating the central bottles of opposing rows, while the lateralseparating portions (115) operate by separating the lateral bottles ofopposing rows in their mid area.

FIG. 20 shows that the distal portion (122) of flaps (121) of sheets(12) operates by separating central and lateral bottles in the same rowin all its height.

Additionally, FIG. 21 shows that the central portion of the partitionwall (120) operates by separating central bottles of opposing rows,while the upper separating portions (125) operate by laterallyseparating bottles in the shoulder area and the lower separatingportions (126) operate by laterally separating bottles in the lowerarea.

1. A separator of items of the bottle type in a pack, which form allows its application to bottles under a wide range of shapes, sizes and preventing contact between the bottles both longitudinally and transversely, with said separator comprising a longitudinal partition wall that separates two opposing rows of bottles and a set of vertical foldable flaps that prevent the lateral contact between bottles of the same row, WHEREIN the separator comprises a first type of sheet and a second type of sheet, where each sheet has a central partition wall and two vertical, equidistant each other flaps with each flap comprising two vertical adjacent portions, one distal portion and one proximal portion located with respect to vertical folding lines that join each flap to their corresponding sheet; and where these folding lines are located in the vertical direction of the partition wall and are laterally displaced in relation to an imaginary plane which is perpendicular to the partition wall, going through bottles of the same row of bottles, where this displacement is equal to about one fourth the bottle diameter.
 2. The separator of items in a pack according to claim 1, WHEREIN the vertical folding lines of the first type of sheet are two by each flap, an upper folding line and another lower one, located in the same vertical line, while the vertical folding lines of the second type of sheet are one by each flap located in the mid area of each flap.
 3. (canceled)
 4. The separator of items in a pack according to claim 1, WHEREIN the central partition wall of the first type of sheet comprises separating vertical portions located in the mid area of the partition wall height with a width corresponding to at least half the diameter of the bottle and a height greater than one third the partition wall height, generated by a cutting line.
 5. (canceled)
 6. The separator of items in a pack according to claim 1, WHEREIN the partition wall of the sheet comprises separate upper and lower portions generated by cutting lines, where said separating portions have a greater width corresponding to at least half the diameter of the bottle and its height is at least of fourth the partition wall height.
 7. The separator of items in a pack according to claim 1, WHEREIN the cutting lines of the sheet are each formed by a vertical, parallel section displaced outwards the vertical folding line and by a horizontal inclined section ending when finding the vertical folding line. 8-9. (canceled)
 10. The separator of items in a pack according to claim 1, WHEREIN in the sheet the vertical folding lines of a flap are parallel to the vertical folding lines of the other flap and are laterally separated each other by a distance which is equivalent to one diameter and a half of the bottles.
 11. (canceled)
 12. The separator of items in a pack according to claim 1, WHEREIN it is made up from a one-part template comprised of two sheets, where one of which corresponds to a first type of sheet and the other one to the second type of sheet, joined and folded each other around a central transverse common folding ridge.
 13. The separator of items in a pack according to claim 1, WHEREIN the common folding ridge has a central joining portion weakened between both sheets, which width is equal to the separation width between vertical folding lines of each sheet. 14-16. (canceled)
 17. The separator of items in a pack according to claim 1, WHEREIN it is made up from two sheets of the second type of sheet, which are independent each other that can be joined each other by adhesive lines placed in the central area of the partition wall of each sheet.
 18. The separator of items in a pack according to claim 1, WHEREIN when the separator formed by one sheet and one sheet, is installed between the bottles with flaps and unfolded outwardly, the proximal portion of the flaps and the proximal portion of the flaps bend, thus surrounding the inside quadrant of the corresponding lateral bottle perimeter.
 19. (canceled)
 20. The separator of items in a pack according to claim 1, WHEREIN when the separator formed by one sheet and one sheet, is installed between the opposing rows of bottles, the central bottles remain separated each other by the partition wall, and the bottles of each end remain separated in the area of shoulder and the lower area by the upper and lower separating portions of the partition wall of sheet, respectively; while the central area of the bottles remains separated by the vertical separating portions of the partition wall of the first sheet. 21-25. (canceled)
 26. A cardboard template to form a separator of items of the bottle type according to claim 1, which shape allows its application to a wide range of shapes, sizes preventing contact between bottles both in longitudinal and transverse direction, WHEREIN it is comprised of a foil folded in two sheets through a central folding ridge, which is transverse to the foil length, where said sheets are different each other configured by a central partition wall and two flaps, comprising each a distal portion and a proximal portion, where each flap originates from cutting lines from a vertical folding line, with those vertical folding lines being located in the template's longitudinal direction and displaced with respect to an imaginary plane perpendicularly to the partition wall, thus forming a displacement which is approximately equal to fourth the diameter of a bottle.
 27. The cardboard according to claim 26, WHEREIN the vertical folding lines of the sheet are two by each flap, one upper and another lower, located in the same vertical line, and the vertical folding lines of the second sheet are one by each flap located in the mid area of the height of each flap. 28-29. (canceled)
 30. The cardboard according to claim 26, WHEREIN the cutting lines of the first sheet are formed by a central vertical, parallel section displaced outwards the vertical folding line, followed in both ends by inclined horizontal, converging each other sections, which end when finding the vertical folding line.
 31. (canceled)
 32. The cardboard according to claim 26, WHEREIN the cutting lines of the second sheet are each formed by a vertical, parallel section displaced outwards the vertical folding line and a horizontal inclined section, which end when finding the vertical folding line. 33-34. (canceled)
 35. The cardboard according to claim 26, WHEREIN the vertical folding lines of the first sheet are parallel and separated each other by a distance equal to one diameter and a half of bottles
 36. (canceled)
 37. The cardboard according to claim 26, WHEREIN the common folding ridge has a central weakened joining portion between both sheets, which width is equal to the separation width between vertical folding lines. 38-45. (canceled)
 46. A separator of items in a pack according to claim 1, WHEREIN the cutting lines of the sheet are formed by a central, parallel vertical section displaced outwards the vertical folding lines followed in both ends by horizontal inclined sections, which are converging each other and ending when finding the vertical folding line.
 47. A separator of items in a pack according to claim 1, WHEREIN it is made up from a one-part template comprised of two sheets of the second type of sheet joined and folded each other around a central transverse common folding ridge.
 48. A separator of items in a pack according to claim 1, WHEREIN it is made up from a first type of sheet and a second type of sheet, which are independent each other that can be joined each other by adhesive lines placed in the central area of the partition wall and the partition wall of each sheet.
 49. The cardboard according to claim 26, WHEREIN the partition wall of the second sheet comprises upper and lower separating portions generated by cutting lines, where said separating portions have a width corresponding at least to half the diameter of the bottle and its height is at least one fourth the height of the partition wall. 